The mother and baby got us suspicious... but apparently, not suspicious enough.
It turns out we've been tricked.
Regarding that post we wrote yesterday on toxic vinyl shower curtains? We should have done a bit more research before putting it up.
Toxic Shower Curtains = Oops
If we had, then we would have found the New York Times article that bennyrogers pointed out in the comments. We would have found the ABC News story that questioned the methodology. (That the most toxic shower curtain, and the one that just happened to be tested, came from environmental whipping boy Wal-Mart should have been a tip-off for us that this was not the most objective of studies. On the other hand, we did point out that they should have tested more curtains for a bigger sample.)
And while it's easy to write off stories like this as "scare science," there's a lot we can learn from this misstep—aside from the benefits of advanced Google searching. For example:
- One of the reasons that it's hard to know what to do with the results of the study is because there are no federal standards for indoor air quality. So how much off-gassing is too much? It's impossible to say.
- With all the finger-pointing at the methodology, no one's said that it's impossible for a shower curtain to emit the toxic chemicals the study did find. Should this stuff really be in household products?
- There are bigger problems than shower curtains. There's nasty stuff in the air and water in many urban areas that affect everyone, not just those of us with cute new shower curtains from Wal-Mart.
We'll chalk this one up as a lesson learned. Did you get tricked, too?
Comments (5)
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Funny - Coincidentally, I read the initial post on Wednesday, purchased an eco no off gassing liner on Thursday (we really needed one) and read this follow up later that night. Regardless, the extra $2 is well worth a chlorine free, odorless, and bio-degradable alternative.
view ttbj's profile
where did you buy this alternative? I'd be interested.
Regardless of the quality of the study, I know that a new shower curtain reeks for days after hanging it up. Whatever it is that is causing the smell I would be happy to avoid.
view joss's profile
I believe that the NY Times and Re-Nest have been too quick to take the rebuttal of the Consumer Product Safety Commission at it's word. Sounds to me like they want you to think that it's 'scare science' (not unlike the way global warming was dismissed for years by the government).
Sure, one can now see that not enough of a sample was done here, but I agree with the posters here that an eco liner is the better alternative.
Regarding the above article's comment- "There are bigger problems than shower curtains." Sure there are, but you don't only try to fix the big problems, do you? This is a green home site, so it's entirely appropriate to address this issue here.
view sloper's profile
Dr Joe Schwarcz is a Montreal chemist who comments on everyday-science stuff. You might find his article on the topic answers a few more questions:
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=76d658d3-6797-43eb-8ca2-f5b30bf682f1&p=2
view Miss Mabel's profile
Lately I've had to add a new rule to our house: if I can feel it when I breathe, I don't want it in my house. I don't know what they're off-gassing, but I bought a vinyl bag as an organizer a couple of months ago and I could still smell it off-gassing a week later. I don't know what I'm going to do when our shower curtains get sad and nasty, but I avoid vinyl now.
view maryhawkins's profile